


A Promise Must Never Be Broken

by FallOutStucky (orphan_account)



Series: Fake/Pretend Relationship [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Steve Rogers, Doctor!Bucky, Established Relationship, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Gay Bucky Barnes, Jealousy, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 10:37:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8282842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/FallOutStucky
Summary: Ever since Bucky has met his best friend Steve his life hasn't been the most normal. So when he suddey finds himself hundreds of miles away from home, in a situation as awkward as it can be, he really shouldn't be surprised.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically a continuation of Getaway Driver, which I've edited as a prologue. I've had bits of it saved for over a year and since it's fake relationship I thought, hey, why not post it as a part of this series.

It was 8am when Bucky closed his locker and left the dressing room. He hung his bag over one shoulder and made his way to the door, the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and his hands burried deep in its pockets. He came straight out of a double shift and just wanted to go to bed and sleep through the end of the world. The fastest way to his car was taking the lift to the the basement and then go through the parking lot, but he was to exhausted and just shambled through the floor to the main exit.

At the reception he ran in his friend and colleague Natasha. She was carrying a box from Dunkin Donuts and four paper cups with coffee. A black umbrella hung from her arm and the raindrops on her clothes told Bucky that the weather outside was as bad as his mood. Bucky really liked her but right now he wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone. Maybe if he would just look down the wholw time, she wouldn't know him in his homless-person-look … Of course it didn't work. She'd already seen him, smiled and shook her red haired head.

“Good morning, Doctor Barnes. Wow. I´ve seen people, who came in here with deadly illnesses, looking way better than you do right now.“

Bucky rolled his eyes at her. He really wasn't in the mood for her teasing.

“Oh, just shut up. I´ve been awake for over twenty-four hours, only living on Red Bull and Protein Bars.“

She held the cups towards him.

“I think you need one of those more than I do.“

He shook his head.

“No, thanks. No coffee. Just sleep.“ Caffeine was the last thing he needed in his current state, his nerves were strained enough.

“What ever you think is best for you, buddy. But you really shouldn't work that much you know? That´s the third time this month that you took a double shift.“

 

Natasha´s concern pleased him, but he didn't need it. He knew that he worked too much. But that was just his life: Working till he could fall a sleep while walking and then coming home to an empty apartment. Natasha always tried to set him up, get him a boyfriend to change his lonely and unhealthy lifestyle but everyone she suggested was as boring as his life already was. They all don't have the fire you clearly need in your life, his sister always said when he broke up with just another guy.  
He wanted to tell Natasha that he was okay, when they were suddenly interrupted by some kind of joyful scream.

“Oh, man. Donuts! Awesome.“ Clint Barton, one of the male nurses, jumped between them, grabbed the pink box and opened it with eyes as wide as a child's on Christmas morning.

One second later a strawberry cream donut was in his left and a double chocolate shock one in his right hand. He grinned at them and looked at the coffee, questioning.

“Front left“, Natasha answered. “A caramel latte with whipped creme and extra cinnamon. Just as always. Only one question, Clint. How are you going to carry it?“

He raised his eyebrows, smirking mischievously, then put one donut in his mouth and grabbed the coffee with his now free hand. Murmuring something not understandable, he turned his back on them to sit on the reception desk. 

Bucky decided, that this was his chance to finally make an exit. He turned his head to Natasha, opening the box again.

“Oh, no Caffeine, but a sugar shock? Are you sure you should drive?“

Bucky nodded and fished for two apple and cinnamon donuts with powdered sugar. His favorite ones.

“Protein bars, Natasha. They are okay, but not as satisfying as one of those babies." They were actually the only thing able to lighten his mood in times like these.

“Just drive carefully and call me when you´re awake. How about movies and pizza tonight? I´m sure Clint and Maria are in too“, Natasha offered with an encouraging smile and a conforming nod from Clint.

“Sure. It´s only twenty minutes, I´ll be save. Later, then!“ Bucky tapped three fingers against his forehead in a mocking salute. “Bye, Clint!“

“Shee´ya, Buckeh!“, Clint yelled, muffled due to his full mouth while waving with a hand covered in pink frosting. Bucky smiled tired and turned to the glass doors.

“Goddamn it, Clint. Wash your hands. You´re in a hospital, could you at least try to be professional? This...“

Natasha´s tirade was interrupted by the closing doors and the pouring rain outside the main building of the Brooklyn Hospital Center. The sky was dark gray from the non-stop falling rain and it didn't seem to light up anytime soon. Bucky sighed. He hated garages and therefore always parked in the parking lot across the entrance. Something he regretted deeply at this very moment. He searched through his bag and found an empty lunchbox to put the donuts in. At least they wouldn't get wet. Bucky then closed his rain jacket, left the dry canopy and ran through the rain.

He was completely soaked by the time he reached his car. The hood and jacket were able to shield him from the worst but were completely wet themselves. He threw the box with the donuts in it as well as his bag on the passenger seat and stripped out of the wet clothes only sitting there in his thin white shirt. Shaking his brown hair to get rid of the few raindrops that there caught in there, Bucky let out a long yawn and put the key in, ready to start the car as someone ripped the door open.

A tall blond guy Bucky had never ever seen before, only wearing a thin light blue, half open hospital down, just slipped onto the passenger seat, threw Bucky´s bag in the footwell and looked at him with the bluest eyes the brunet had ever seen on a real human being. They were opened wide and filled with energy.

“Drive! God damn it! Just drive!“, the guy shouted.

If someone would ask him later, Bucky would tell them that it was the lack of sleep and the wetness, the cold, that led him to his next move, but in that exact moment, he didn't knew what on earth caused him to turn the key and drive.

And maybe it was the lack of sleep, but it was more possible that it was the blond´s pretty eyes, his furious smile and the sudden taste of something completely unexpected, that drove Bucky. And with him the car.

The guy just laughed, loud and warm, grabbing his own chest while doing so. He leaned back in the seat catching his breath and looked at Bucky.

“Oh man, I wasn't sure you would actually drive“, he said.

Bucky laughed too.

“Believe me, pal. Neither was I“, he murmured under his breath. The following silence made Bucky realize, that he was driving with a complete stranger, who just kind of hijacked his car with him sitting in it. He cleared his throat.

“So...what are you running away from anyway?“ He tried to look at his passenger without taking his view from the street. What he managed to see earlier proved to be correct. The stranger was tall. Probably even taller than Bucky, with blue eyes and short blond hair. He was completely wet from his head to his bare feet. Around his left wrist was a thin white band, his right was wrapped up in a white cast. His lip was split open and dirty with dried blood, around his right eye a dark bruise had formed. He looked even worse than Bucky himself. All of that and the hospital gown clearly marked him as a patient.

Bucky knew he really should drive him straight back to where they came from, but his overly tired brain couldn't manage to think about what was right at the moment and the part of him which was wide awake by now was excited about the story behind all this.

“I flew from the hospital. Well not the hospital exactly. More the people who brought me in there at the first place to be honest. I guess that's just what happens, when you pick fights with people twice your weight, which then come back with their whole gang to finish you. My name´s Steve by the way“, he smiled again. One of those thousand watt smiles which could lighten up your whole day.  
Bucky nodded, returning the smile.

“Bucky, nice to meet you. Strange, but nice.“

“I bet you´ve never met someone in a stranger way. I think I should apologize and say something like I normally don't get in situations like this, but this actually happens to me all the time.“ Steve shook his head. “I think it was only two weeks ago, that I somehow managed to be traded for twenty goats.“

“What?“

“Yeah. I just wanted to buy a bouquet in the Arabic flower shop around the corner. But the owners daughter was getting married that day and they just dragged me to the party where they filled me up with some kind of fig liquor until I made out with the groom, which caused his father to trade me to his cousin in Saudi Arabia. Thank god, that my friend Phil works for the government and they managed to get me out of that!“, Steve told him with a completely straight face.

Bucky had trouble driving normally, he was to busy laughing, like he didn't in a long time. Also, blond pretty hospital runaway Steve was apparently into guys.

Interesting.

Not that Bucky's brain was mainly working on that fact. Was not. Definitely not. Okay maybe it was.

“You´re joking. Aren't you?“

Steve frowned and shook his head.

“No. True story, man. But that´s nothing compared to that one time I volunteered for testing this new medicament...“

“Okay, okay! I believe you! Just tell me where I should drive you to, because that´s my fifth time around this block and I feel a bit weird doing it a sixth time. The policemen around the corner looked already suspicious the last time.“

“Oh of course, I´m sorry. Just the next two right and then four blocks towards downtown“, Steve answered.

“No way!“, Bucky let out. “You live down Lancaster Road?“

“Yes?“

“My apartment's on Dalton Avenue.“

Steve smirked. “I knew I picked the right getaway car.“ He changed his position and accidentally kicked against the lunch box. He bent over and picked it up. 

“Sorry again for all the fuss. I think I´m just a magnet for trouble.“

“No“, Bucky disagreed. “I think I need a bit more trouble and excitement in my life.“

“Well in that case: Congratulations on meeting me.“ 

His eyes went down to the transparent box in his lap.  
He let out an excited squeak, similar to Clint´s from earlier.

“Are those apple-and-cinnamon donuts with powdered sugar? They are my favorites!“

Bucky who really enjoyed his over excitement, smiled.  
“Yeah. Mine too. You want one?“

“Really?“, Steve replied, suddenly shy. “I mean, I kind of kidnapped you and your car and now you´re offering me donuts?“

Bucky shrugged. He couldn't help himself, but he already liked this guy more than most of his colleagues he's known for years.

“Sure, take one.“

Steve opened the box and took a bite.

“Mhm, so good“, he moaned satisfied. A noise which caused Bucky to bite his underlip and take deep breath.

“These are the best things ever!“, Steve praised as they drove down his street. “Yes there, on the right.“

Bucky parked the car and turned to his right, somehow sad, that the ride was already over. Steve didn't seem really keen of leaving either. He smiled at Bucky. “Thank you, again I´ll just go then."

Bucky nodded, trying to not look to sad.

Steve opened the door, flinching in the act.

“Shit.“

“What?“, Bucky asked confused. Did he have any pain? I mean, he was at the hospital for a reason, the doctor in Bucky voiced his concern.

“I left my keys in the hospital and Sam, my roommate, only is with his family in D.C. over the weekend, he'll arrive late tonight.“ He looked at Bucky, really similar to a lost puppy. The brunet suppressed a smile.

“Well. How about that? You come with me to stay at my place until your friend comes home and I´ll give you some dry clothes. You let me sleep four hours to get back what I missed the last two days and make me some pancakes for when I get up in return. Deal?“

Steve smiled his thousand watt smile again, closed the door and nodded. “Deal.“

Maybe, this was the kind of fire his sister was talking about all the time. The fire that lead you to do something completely spontaneous and thoughtless with someone you only met a few minutes before, Bucky thought as he started the motor again.


	2. Chapter 2

The woman with the blonde curly hair puts her hand on Bucky´s arm.

"Thank you so much Dr. Barnes. For rescuing my son. And especially for being here for me."

Bucky suppresses the urge to shake her hand of and just swallows.

He´s already counting the seconds until he´s able to go home and leave the hospital behind him for the next four weeks. He worked enough to afford this holiday from his overtime alone. All he had to do was get rid of this intrusive woman. He never did anything special for her, nothing he wouldn't do for any of his patients. He held her when she cried next to her sleeping son, promised her everything would be okay and talked to his boss when it wasn't sure if her son Ian would get the operation he urgently needed.

"Of course. It´s what I´m here for, Mrs. Hunt. I think..."

"No. Most doctors would´ve just done their job. But you. You were really here for us. For me. You cared."

Oh for God´s sake! The other day Bucky stayed awake the whole night with a young girl who couldn't sleep because of the pain in her broken leg. He ordered pizza, played board games with her and they exchanged stories about their life until the early morning hours. He literally did this every time. Bucky just liked to help people, why else would he have become a doctor if not for that.

"Let me just make it up to you, somehow", she insists.

"No it´s really not necessary", Bucky tries.

"Yes, it is. I was thinking, maybe I could take you out for dinner this weekend."

Okay then. Bucky takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to give her the classic I´m-really-tired-and-just-want-to-go-home-and-also-so-not-attracted-to-you-or-women-in-general-speech. He already knows it by heart, but is luckily cut off by his phone, playing the scrubs theme out loud.

Bucky sighs. Really funny. He´d bet ten dollars that it was Clint who changed his ring tone.

"One second please." He looks at the screen. Steve. Maybe there is another way out of this.

He picks the call up. "Hello?"

"Buck? It´s me, could you..." Bucky just ignores him and continues talking.

"Oh hey, baby."

"What? Bucky?"

"Yes, of course. No. I´m still in the hospital. I think I´ll be home in about an hour."

"Bucky, I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

"Yeah, I´m just speaking to this lovely lady here, I´m done afterwards." He gives Ms. Hunter a quick nod.

"Oh, okay. I understand. That again. Should I play the dissatisfied husband or the jealous one? Either way could you pick a package up for me. From the post office?"

Bucky tries not to laugh, but a small fond smile escapes him. He gets on brabbling nonsense.

"Of course. I´ll pick it up."

"Okay, we´re playing the happy couple. Man that´s boring."

"I´ll see you then."

"Oh, that´s already enough? I was just starting to have fun. But fine", Steve whines and then in a high pitched voice, "I love you."

Bucky chuckled. "I love you, too."

He puts the phone back in his white coat and looks at Ms. Hunt.

"I´m sorry. That was my Husband. He wanted to know when I´ll be home."

"Oh..." 

Bucky is proud of himself.

"I´ll have to go. Is there anything left I can do for you?"

She swallows, suddenly seeming a bit unsure and surprised.

"Ahem..."

"Alright then. If you have any further questions, Mr. Barton started his shift about ten minutes ago. He´s informed about anything regarding your son. I´ll have to go now."

He shakes her hand and smiles, totally overreacting. "It was such pleasure to meet you and I´ll hope Ian will be totally recovered soon. He´s such a nice boy, really..." He drops her hand and swaggers away, talking nonsense until he is around the corner.

He slams the door of the changing room and falls down on a bench, pushing his hands through his hair and sighs.

Suddenly the door is opened again and Natasha slips into the room dying with laughter.

"What´s it with you and the ladies, Barnes?", she chuckles. "You seemed like you had a little panic attack back there. You know what? For Christmas I´m getting you a shirt with the inscription 'I´m gay, please stay the fuck away from me' on it"

Another deep sigh. "Please don't."

"Hey, let me have a bit of fun. You can go home now but I still have eight hours to go. Who was it on the phone?"

Bucky stands up and opens his locker, taking his clothes out. He strips out of his robe and polo before turning around to Natasha again.

"Oh, just Steve. He asked me to pick something up for him from the post office."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"What?", Bucky asks frowning.

"Nothing. Just, if it was Steve, you didn't even lie."

"Natasha, we´re just friends. Maybe I wanted more when we first met, yes, but that´s long gone."

"Fine. Keep telling you that."

"I´m not in love with him! We. Are. Just. Friends", Bucky insists. He and Steve got really close over the years but nothing more.

He switched his white clothes with jeans and a blue hoodie.

"Just friends who are also married."

Bucky groans. "Well as always, it was really fun to chat with you Natasha, but I´m only minutes away from being free from this place for four weeks and the only thing standing between me and that is you", Bucky says with a tired smile.

"Likewise, Barnes. So it´s your first free evening, huh? You up to something?", she asks with a smirk. She opens the door of the changing room and follows him outside.

Bucky shrugs. "Not really. I´ll buy a six pack on the way home. There´s a Lord of the Rings marathon on the TV and Steve´s going to make Lasagna."

Natasha shook her head. "Like I said, you two are so married."

"You can go and fuck yourself", Bucky tells her.

"And you can go and fuck Steve!"

They arrive at the elevator and pass Mrs. Hunt who is talking to an incredibly uncomfortable looking Clint.

"You little bastard you set her up on Clint. Now I have to get him out of that", Natasha sighs as a high ping announces the income of the elevator.

"Everyone'll get what they deserve." Bucky slips into the elevator.

"Have fun with your husband, Barnes!", she yells before the door closes entirely. He shakes his head, a little smile on his lips while getting two stories lower.

What he has told Natasha is true. He and Steve are just friends. Of course, considering Steve looking like some scientists had tried to mix together the perfect human being to look like everyone´s wet dream, Bucky wanted more than just friendship when the handsome stranger just jumped into Bucky´s car on his flew from a couple of thugs. Steve had forgotten his keys and Bucky had let him crush at his place until his roommate returned. While he took a nap after a long shift, Steve had tried to make pancakes and accidentally set Bucky´s apartment on fire. The fire department had to come and they ended up at Steve´s apartment with Clint, Natasha and some if Steve´s friend eating pizza. The sexual tension vanished more every day until they were in fact just friends. Really good ones though. Exactly like a married couple without the sex, he has to admit.

The post office is only one street away from the grocery store so it isn't a big detour. He goes there first to pick up Steve´s stuff. He expected a few letters or maybe a small package, not a paper box so big, Bucky was afraid it wouldn't fit into his car.

It takes five minutes but eventually Bucky manages to push it into his car and drive to the grocery store where he gets two six packs of Budweiser, a pack of rasped cheese for Steve´s lasagna and a few other things.

He parks in front of his building suddenly aware that he has to carry three bags of groceries and Steve´s enormous package. This is really one of the moments where he wishes the elevator to his apartment wasn't broken.

Bucky somehow manages to get the keys out of his pocket and to open the door with a little help from his neighbor Mrs. Ellington, an elder women who seemed to have a little crush on Bucky.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Ellington", he says as he kicks the door all the way open.

"Oh how often should I remind me to call me Patricia, Dr. Barnes. It was a pleasure to help you. Just call me if you need someone to reach into your pants again", she answers with a wink and vanishes inside her apartment.

Bucky just stands there for a moment without moving, before he swallows and shivers over the mental image that just popped up in his head.

He turns around and steps into his apartment, still in shock.

"I think she just sexual harassed me", he says out loud.

"DON´T COME INTO THE KITCHEN!", a familiar male voice yells in response.

The scream takes Bucky completely by surprise and he shreaks in horror, throwing all the stuff on the floor. Luckily the beer bottles remain unbroken but about a dozen apples roll under the sofa.

"Steve?"

"Shit. Everything alright, Buck? I´m sorry, I didn´t want to scare you, just...just don´t come into the kitchen, okay?"

Bucky just leans over to pick up his spilled stuff and carries it, despite Steve´s warning into the kitchen. He leaves the giant package in the living room. Why he lets Steve cook for him, when the blond is basically the clumsiest person in the world is beyond him. Maybe because his Ma's lasagna was the best dish in the whole world.

"Did you set something on fire again?"

Other questions pop up in Bucky´s head like: Why are you here, yet? Who let you even in? But he knows Steve long enough to not question stuff like that.

He steps around the corner and into the kitchen. Bucky does´t really knkw what he expected, but certainly not that .

Steve stands in the middle of the kitchen, bare feet, his back turned towards the door, only wearing dark blue boxer shorts under a pink apron.

"What the hell?", Bucky asks frowning in confusion.

Steve turns around with a shocked expression.

"I said don´t come into the kitchen!"

"Come on, this isn´t the worst I´ve seen you", Bucky laughs. From the front, Steve looks even more ridiculous. His whole face was sprinkled with light pink spots and his front bangs are kept out of his eyes with an equally pink hair band. The look was completed with the apron he was wearing. It shows a man´s ripped body, only wearing a star-spangled string tanga. A present to his 30th birthday from Clint. It was unnecessary, though, since Steve was equally ripped in real lifr.

In his left hand he holds a glass carafe, a ladle in the other one.

Bucky looks around. A bit of the pink stuff is in the carafe, a bit of it in Steve´s face, but most of it has been spilled on the floor and the kitchen tiles.

Bucky doesn´t even know what to say, he just smiles and shakes his head. He isn´t eve mad, Steve is his best friend after all, the best he´s ever had. And like he said, there's been worse...

"Steve..."

"I´m so sorry. I tried to make strawberry milkshakes, I know they´re your favorites so I thought you´d have something nice. However, your mixer broke. I´ll buy you a new one, I promise", Steve tries to defend himself.

"It´s okay really. Just tell me, why didn´t you put on some of my clothes? You know you could´ve."

Steve looks down on himself in the ridiculous apron.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to prevent anymore clothes from getting dirty."

"Alright. Just clean up that mess, I´ll put some clothes into the bathroom. Wash the kitchen and yourself, I´ll take a short nap. Wake me when you´re done and I´ll help you cook. You okay with that?"

Steve smiles at him, wide eyed and nods.

"Yeah, of course."

Bucky turns around and goes to the bedroom. He takes a blue t-shirt and dark prey sweat pants out of his closet and places them in the bathroom, the changes from his pants into another pair of sweats and lays down on the bed.

Bucky closed is eyes and hears Steve handling the dishes in the kitchen.

God dammit. We are such a married couple, is his last thought before he slips away.

Bucky wakes up again from a warm, big hand rocking his shoulder. He opens his eyes, looking up at his blond best friend. The blue hirt was a bit too tight on him but Bucky wouldn´t complain.

"Hey, I´m sorry to wake you up, but Lord of the Rings starts in ten minutes."

"What?" Bucky sits up and pushes his hand through his hair. "What times is it?"

Steve looks at Bucky´s clock. "Eight thirty."

"Shit. I´ve slept for three hours?" Bucky jumps out of bed and strolls into the living room, Steve right behind him.

He stopsabrupt. Two plates with lasagna as well as a six pack with cool beer are plaved on the table.

"There´s apple pie in the oven. I thought, if we can´t have milkshakes..." Steve shrugs and jumps on the couch.

"What would I be without you?", Bucky asks as he joins him.

"Well, owner of an unbroken mixer at this point."

Bucky laughs and takes one of the plates. "Gosh, I´m starving."

"Good thing I´ve made enough food for a whole army, then."


End file.
